Buddhism and the Gita

[budsci]

I've always admired Buddhist philosophy as the product of one of the most unique men in history. The Buddha's birthright as a prince and regal heir, his rejection of it to seek greater truths, his long struggles with the human condition, and his final success in achieving what many had taught but none had achieved reveal the spiritual path as a reality, not just imaginative fantasy.

The oriental text that first caught my imagination was the Ramayana, followed by the MahaBharata and others; but the one I chose as my personal guide to spiritual insight and development was the BhagavadGita, and it has served me infallibly.

I'm interested in the status of the Gita in the philosophies and religions of South East Asia. I've read that, as one of the Vedas, it is not an accepted text. Is this true? How well-known is it? Does anyone else here value it as do I?

[khaowong1]

As the Gita is a Hindu scripture, it doesn't get much attention done by Buddhists.  Only those who are actually interested in learning and studying other modes of enlightenment. 

[budsci]

Thanks for the reply. That's a pity IMO. During his search for enlightenment, Siddhartha initially read widely in the available literature, and would undoubtedly have encountered the Gita. In spite of its brevity, and being hidden halfway through the massive MahaBharata, it is one of the oldest texts in existence, and predates Indian civilization: s.c. it's not originally Hindu, but was inherited from an earlier civilization.

As a warrior code, it also provides a counter to the more peaceable ideas which dominate Buddhism, resulting in passivity and lack of zeal in those so inclined.